Kidnapping and sexual assault of a child
Manatee Herald Staff Report
A joint investigation by the Bradenton Police Department and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has led to the arrest of Marciano Sanchez-Felix, a 55-year-old Bradenton resident, for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 15-year-old.
Sanchez-Felix was arrested on Nov. 4, just two days after the assault.
According to the arrest report, the victim reported that she had been kidnapped in the 1400 block of Cortez Road West from the Panera Bread/Best Buy parking lot.
Police say Sanchez-Felix saw the young girl, exited his vehicle and forced her inside and then drove to the 700 block of 24th Avenue West.
According to the arrest report, Sanchez-Felix forced the victim into the back seat where he sexually assaulted her.
Following the rape, police say Sanchez-Felix drove the victim to Ninth Street West where he dropped her off and gave her $20.
Police say Sanchez-Felix denied kidnapping the victim, saying he offered her a ride and she got into his vehicle of her own accord.
According to the report, Sanchez-Felix admitted having sex with the victim but that it was consensual and that she had told him she was 18.
During breaks in the interview, police say Sanchez-Felix made several phone calls where he was telling someone that he messed up and that he was going to go to jail.
Sanchez-Felix was booked into the Manatee County jail where he remains in custody on a $200,000 bond.
Bradenton man charged with murder
A 26-year-old Bradenton man was arrested on Nov. 4 in connection to the Oct. 29 shooting of a man in the 2200 block of Ninth Street West.
According to the Bradenton Police Department, Mario Alba-Reyes shot Domingo Mendez in the head. Mendez was initially still alive and taken to Blake Medical Center as a trauma alert.
The wife of the victim told police she and her husband arrived at the La Barkania Bar and Restaurant and when they tried to enter were stopped by Alba-Reyes.
A confrontation ensued but the witness said she and her husband tried to diffuse the situation and leave the area, but that Alba-Reyes and another male followed them and continued to argue with them.
When the victim asked Alba-Reyes what his problem was, police say Alba-Reyes then walked to his vehicle to grab a gun and then shot the victim.
The victim’s wife was able to take a photo of the fleeing vehicle, which police say had crashed into a stop sign a short time after the shooting, but that the vehicle and two suspects had fled the area.
At 1 a.m. the next morning, the victim was pronounced brain dead and that life support was the only thing keeping him technically alive.
Alba-Reyes was located and arrested on Nov. 4. Police say Alba-Reyes said a “shoulder bump” led to the original argument and blamed his use of alcohol and drugs on the shooting.
Alba-Reyes was booked into the Manatee County jail where he remains in custody without bond.
Man jailed for capital sexual battery on a child
Carlos Murillo Ruiz, 50, was arrested Nov. 5 on charges of capital sexual battery related to two sexual assaults on a child under the age of 10 in late October.
Police became aware of the sexual assaults when the young victim called 911 because Ruiz was battering her mother.
Upon disclosing the sexual assaults, deputies conducted a forensic interview with the victim where the disturbing details were revealed.
Ruiz was booked into the Manatee County jail where he remains in custody without bond on two counts of sexual assault and for a probation violation.
Palmetto man arrested for sexually assaulting a child
A 65-year-old Palmetto man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a minor, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say Terry Ducre was arrested on Nov. 3 at around 11:30 p.m. for the Oct. 18 sexual assault.
According to the arrest report, Ducre admitted to fondling the minor, and attempting to have sex with the victim, but told deputies he didn’t because he was physically unable to.
Ducre was booked into the Manatee County jail on Nov. 3. He was released the following day after posting an unlisted bond amount.
Attempted breakup leads to violence
A 27-year-old Palmetto man was arrested on Nov. 4 just before 6 p.m. after becoming violent toward a woman who just wanted him to leave her home, according to the Palmetto Police Department.
Police say Herbert Brooks head butted the victim during a verbal altercation. According to the arrest report, the victim tried to escape the home, at which time Brooks further battered her by grabbing her in a headlock and slamming her head into the front door.
Police say Brooks forced the victim back into the home where he then picked up an additional felony charge by taking her cellphone after she tried to call police.
Police say the victim suffered injuries to her face and head.
Brooks was booked into the Manatee County jail on Nov. 4 and released the following day after posting bonds totaling $3,500.
Bradenton man attacks roommate with a wrench
A 21-year-old Bradenton man was jailed on Nov. 2 just after 10 p.m. after attacking his roommate with a wrench in the 5800 block of Fifth Street East, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say Raul Ibenez-Cruz struck his roommate across the face with the wrench while the victim was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of soup.
The victim told deputies the attack came, “out of nowhere.”
The victim was transported to urgent care for further treatment.
Additional deputies responded to the residence and located Ibenez-Cruz hiding in the attic.
Ibenez-Cruz was booked into the Manatee County jail and released the following day after posting a $7,500 bond.
She asked him for a lighter so he beat her, cops say
A 32-year-old Bradenton man was arrested for domestic violence and felony strangulation after beating a woman because she asked him to use his lighter, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say Geoffrey Rousseau was playing his drums on the night of Nov. 3 in the 300 block of Tierra Verde Way and became upset when the victim interrupted him for the lighter request.
According to the arrest report, the situation escalated with Rousseau punching the victim several times with a closed fist to the back of her head, threw her onto a nearby couch and choked her to the point of almost passing out
